MSU brings better cancer diagnosis and treatment home to Michigan
At the corner of Michigan Street and Monroe Avenue along the “Medical Mile” in Grand Rapids, some of the world’s most advanced precision cancer treatments are beginning to take place inside the Michigan State University Grand Rapids Innovation Park.
Within the walls of the Doug Meijer Medical Innovation Building — a 205,000-square-foot facility in the innovation park dedicated to biomedical research and public-private partnerships — the medical innovation company Bold Advanced Medical Future Health welcomed the arrival of the nation’s first total-body PET/CT scanner for clinical use on patients. MSU’s partnership with BAMF Health accelerates cancer research through a pipeline of advanced clinical research combined with the latest technology.
Henry Ford Health + MSU Health Sciences funds five cancer research grants
Henry Ford Health + Michigan State University Health Sciences announced its funding of five cancer research grants of up to $100,000 each. These five grants follow an initial wave of funding from the partnership, in which 18 pilot grants of up to $25,000 each were funded in May 2022.
“We are proud to support the groundbreaking work of our dedicated researchers who are helping to advance the field of cancer medicine, reduce healthcare disparities and improve outcomes for patients with cancer,” said Ben Movsas, chair of the Health Sciences Cancer Committee and medical director of Henry Ford Cancer. “These highly impactful research initiatives, 40 percent of which directly address cancer disparities, will help us gain critical insights into some of the most challenging issues facing the cancer community today, which in turn will benefit patients and make a difference in many lives.”
Hickman family’s $6 million gift funds cancer research, creates endowed position
Alumnus Stephen Hickman (’64, Business); his wife, Sally; and their family — daughter Stephanie Hickman Boyse, a 1990 graduate of the College of Communication Arts and Sciences; daughter Tracy Hickman, who earned a degree in interior design in 1988; and Tracy’s spouse, Chad Munger, a 1988 graduate of the College of Arts & Letters — have come together to make a $6 million gift to support cancer research and treatment at Michigan State University.
Jeff Searl receives cancer research education grant from the National Cancer Institute
ComArtSci Professor Jeff Searl has received a grant from the National Cancer Institute to create a virtual reality curriculum for healthcare professionals and students. It will initially focus on training students in nursing, medicine and speech-language pathology to both understand the differences between laryngectomy and tracheostomy patients and to provide care of their airway and communication needs.
Searl is collaborating with Andrew Dennis from the Games for Entertainment and Learning (GEL) Lab, Mary Kay Smith from The Learning and Assessment Center and College of Osteopathic Medicine, Peter LaPine from the Department of Communicative Sciences and Disorders, and Gayle Lourens from MSU’s College of Nursing, in order to create this innovative curriculum in the next two years.